A phab update: Windows Phone 8 gets big screen support

It's time to get ready for the latest update to Windows Phone, and Microsoft's newest offering paves the way for bigger screens with an improved start menu with more live tiles - so look out for some big screen WP8 devices (we're guessing with a Nokia logo...) in the near future.

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A giant upgrade

Custom ringtones arrive on WP8

WP8's new driving mode

With rumours swirling of a Nokia tablet on the horizon, Microsoft has unveiled its latest update for WP8 - and unsurprisingly, support for big screens is front and centre. GDR3 (GDR stands for General Distribution Release) will begin rolling out in the coming weeks and 'will continue over several months,' Microsoft said.

It might not offer any new mind blowing features, but it does hint at what's to come, with support for screens between 5 and 7 inches, and resolution support now set at a maximum of 1080p - giving rumours of Nokia's 1520 big screen handset more credence.

'The new update paves the way for future Windows Phone devices with 5- and 6-inch touch screens,' said Microsoft's Darren Laybourn, announcing the changes.

'The larger, 1080p HD displays on these devices will make Windows Phone even more personal—for example by sporting jumbo-sized Start screens with room for six Live Tiles across instead of four.'

There's also support for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, and a new driving mode designed to limit distractions.

Microsoft has also addressed a few of the niggles with WP8 users have been reporting - adding a new option to lock the display in landscape mode, and custom ringtones for people and events, along with 'hundreds of under-the-hood performance tweaks and enhancements' [Source: Microsoft]